CNN, Roads & Kingdoms Team For Bourdain's 'Parts Unknown' Site


Fans of Anthony Bourdain’s CNN show “Parts Unknown” can dive deeper into his food and travel exploits with the launch of a new site, based on the series.

The new mobile-first site, called “Explore Parts Unknown,” is a collaboration between independent food and travel digital publication Roads & Kingdoms and CNN. The former oversees editorial while the latter takes care of the business side.

In 2015, Bourdain made his first financial foray into digital media by becoming an investing partner in Roads & Kingdoms. He is also its editor-at-large.

Roads & Kingdoms co-founder Nathan Thornburgh told Publishers Daily the partnership was inspired by Bourdain’s initial interest in his site. “He saw what we did online and that it seemed similar to what he did on television.”

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“The idea is not to make this the show page,” Thornburgh continued. “It’s more about using the destinations that [“Parts Unknown”] has gone to as our canvas. The world that we describe in Explore Parts Unknown is the world the show has visited.”

Explore Parts Unknown aims to give fans of the show an in-depth look at where Bourdain went, what he ate and drank, as well as important topics he touched on throughout the eight seasons of “Parts Unknown.”

Thornburgh said readers can use Explore Parts Unknown “to travel like Bourdain.

“In [Bourdain’s] mind that doesn't just mean, here’s the number of the hotel, book a room. But it means being really well-informed about the place you’re going to. Being moved about the lives of the people that are there. We’ll show you how to get a fantastic meal, but also tell you a lot about the country from an emotional and intellectual level through the site.”

The site features articles, travel itineraries, Bourdain’s personal travel notes, travel tips and city, restaurant and bar guides. Explore Parts Unknown also produces exclusive videos, such as a seven episode digital series called “Catalunya: The Return,” featuring Bourdain’s road trip across Spain.

The site even includes recipes of dishes featured in episodes of “Parts Unknown,” with accompanying articles that give context to the dish, its origins and its importance.

Explore Parts Unknown is organized by four categories — Eat, Drink, Know and Go — as well as by geographical location.

Land Rover is the launch sponsor of Explore Parts Unknown.

The site highlights destinations such as Hanoi, Las Vegas, Los Angeles’ Koreatown, Manila, Buenos Aires, London, Punjab, Montana, The Greek Islands, Senegal, Madagascar, Istanbul, New Jersey, Colombia and South Korea.

New destinations will roll out weekly.

Separately, Roads & Kingdoms is gearing up to launch a travel podcast called “The Trip." The first installment is sponsored by Tiger Beer and will include cameos from Bourdain.

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